British TV Actors’ Signature Roles: Alan Davies

Ah, Monday. If you feel like breaking into The Boomtown Rats’ “I Don’t Like Mondays,” hold off until you’ve read Part 3 of the “British TV Actors Signature Roles” series, which today features Alan Davies.

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British TV Actors’ Signature Roles, Part 2: Martin Shaw
British TV Actors’ Signature Roles, Part 1: Peter Davison
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While best known for his comedy work on radio and television, Alan Davies has starred in several British TV series, of which the titular character in the BAFTA-winning mystery series, Jonathan Creek, is likely his best known signature role this side of the pond.

As Creek, Davies plays a consultant who devises illusions for magician Adam Klaus (Stuart Milligan, Doctor Who, Land Girls). His skills for the sleight of hand, combined with his deductive reasoning abilities, make him the go-to guy for true-crime writer Maddie Magellan (Caroline Quentin, Blue Murder, Men Behaving Badly) in solving mysterious misdeeds.

Creek’s personal life is less eccentric than his work, unless you count his living in a windmill; it’s actually quite pedestrian, and not just because he doesn’t drive. And his relationship with Maddie can be maddening, as her romantic interest in him and need for him in solving crimes can border on the abusive.

When it comes to the murder and mayhem, Creek figures out each whodunit by determining the “how’d they do that?” How can a murderer vanish in front of people’s eyes? How can a dead man rise from the grave to kill someone? You’ll have to watch the show to find out.

Another of Davies’ signature roles is that of Henry Farmer in the courtroom drama, The Brief. Farmer is a barrister whose personal life is as complicated as his cases. He has massive debts due to gambling and alimony, an affair with a reporter whose politician husband is well aware of their relationship, and family issues of the literally- and figuratively-distant kind with his son (who lives in Sydney) and father (a judge whose advice and rulings aren’t always welcome).

Acorn TV began streaming all episodes of The Brief today, which you can watch through January 20, 2013. You can also stream them at Amazon Instant Video.

Davies’ most controversial signature role is that of Bob in the British Comedy Awards-winning dramedy, Bob & Rose, in which he plays a gay man who falls in love with straight woman Rose (Lesley Sharp, The Shadow Line, The Full Monty).

Another of Davies’ starring roles on television is that of chef Roland White in the sitcom Whites (available for streaming at Hulu), although it’s arguable if this is considered a signature role. What’s not arguable is his real-life role as permanent panelist on the hilarious UK game show, QI (for Quite Interesting), which you can watch on YouTube.

Have a fab week!

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